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Survivor wrestles with his greater purpose

Savannah Morning News

Had Ian Robb not been late for work on September 11, 2001 he most certainly would have perished with his co-workers on the 99th floor of the World Trade Center's north tower. He was trapped in an elevator on the way to his office when terrorists crashed a plane into the building.

Larry Peterson

Susan Jaffie

Larry Peterson

Dan Gleason

Larry Peterson

Susan Webber

Savannah Morning News

A motor torpedo boat passes the USS Savannah just as a radio-controlled bomb slams into the light cruiser.

Savannah Morning News

A fire breaks out on the Savannah in the aftermath of a German bomb striking the light cruiser on Sept. 11, 1943.

Savannah Morning News

This round, clean hole marks where a German radio-controlled glide bomb struck the USS Savannah on Sept. 11, 1943. The attack killed more than 200 officers and enlisted men.

Savannah Morning News

Lil' G

Savannah Morning News

Charlena Brown

Savannah Morning News

Carolyn Johnson

Savannah Morning News

David W. Siu

Stephen Berend

Former shipmates Lou Wabnitz and Ken Peloquin, both of whom served on the USS Savannah from 1942 to 1944, swap war stories during a recent reunion in Savannah.

Stephen Berend

From left, Tom Harper, 90, Theodore Hunt, 87, and Reid Abernathy, 87, share a laugh during a recent reunion of shipmates from the USS Savannah. The trio are plank owners, members of the original crew, who served on the ship when it was first commissioned in March 1938.

Stephen Berend

Orman Duane, 84, a survivor of the Sept. 11, 1943, attack on the USS Savannah, displays a photo of the World War II light cruiser during a recent crew reunion in Savannah.

Had Ian Robb not been late for work on September 11, 2001 he most certainly would have perished with his co-workers on the 99th floor of the World Trade Center's north tower. He was trapped in an elevator on the way to his office when terrorists crashed a plane into the building.

Savannah Morning News

Had Ian Robb not been late for work on September 11, 2001 he most certainly would have perished with his co-workers on the 99th floor of the World Trade Center's north tower. He was trapped in an elevator on his way to his office when the terrorists crashed the plane into the building.

It's been five years since Ian Robb was trapped inside a north tower elevator.

A part of him longs to trek back to New York today in hopes of paying homage to those whose lives were cut short at the World Trade Center.

Another part of him fears he'd be an interloper. He is, after all, a lucky one.

A survivor.

Instead, Robb will stay home in Savannah and remember.

The retired human resources manager said he still struggles with the notion that he was "more special" or "saved" for a greater purpose than the 48 friends he lost that day from the 99th floor firm of Marsh & McLennan Co.

"I wrestle with that suggestion - that I'm more special than those lost," he said. "I think I know where people are coming from when they suggest this, but that doesn't give credit to the people who lost their lives that day."

He has not turned into a spiritual man - he still credits "luck" more than anything. Neither has he grown more introspective.

But he has learned a lot, like the importance of family and how big a hole his absence would make in the lives of his two adult daughters.

He calls more, cherishes visits.

While he will always miss the bustle of the Big Apple, Robb said he has learned to enjoy his new hometown's sleepy pace.

And he knows this:

"After Sept. 11, I stopped writing and started smoking," he said. "I've since started writing and stopped smoking."

- Pamela E. Walck

Roman holiday to remember

Susan Jaffie was on vacation in Rome when she and her companion, who is from Afghanistan, heard that a plane had plunged into the World Trade Center.

"I couldn't fathom the meaning of it," said Jaffie, who operates the Bean Scene beverage stand at Wright Square.

They rushed back to their hotel and watched televised reports of the attacks.

She and her friend were "very upset," Jaffie said.

"We tried to get in touch with friends but couldn't get a line out," she said.

They had no trouble getting a flight home.

"The Europeans were very sympathetic and helpful to American travelers," she recalled.

Five years later, Jaffie, who just turned 39, says she is more aware of her surroundings "and more watchful in general."

At the same time, she added, she lives day by day now.

"What happens in the future happens."

- Larry Peterson

Surreal in Denver

Then employed by Qwest Communications, Dan Gleason was in a training class about halfway up a 42-story office tower in Denver.

"People were getting word that a plane had crashed in New York," said Gleason, who owns the Urban Cargo store on Bull Street. "We started watching CNN."

As the reality that four planes were used in the attacks sank in, the mood went from disbelief to shock, he said.

Some high-rise buildings were evacuated, but not Gleason's.

That night, military aircraft patrolled the skies.

"It was a surreal environment," said Gleason, 51. "What I remember is a clear, beautiful night with F-16s flying over the city."

Later, he would learn two people he knew died in the attacks.

These days, Gleason is trying harder to stay in touch with friends.

"I'm appreciating the moment rather than planning for the future."

-Larry Peterson

Hard to understand

Susan Webber was listening to the radio as she drove to the day care center she owned in Franklin, Ind.

"I couldn't believe my ears when I heard a plane had hit the World Trade Center," she said. "They didn't know much about it."

When she got to work, the TV was on.

A plane hit the other tower at the center. She knew "something terrible" was going on. The other attacks followed.

"I was very sad and upset," said Webber, 40.

But she wasn't angry at the terrorists.

"I didn't know those people," she said. "I just didn't understand."

Webber, who manages the Davenport Designs store on Bull Street, says 9/11 left her more cautious and more aware of her surroundings. She says she'd be willing to pitch in and help save lives if there were another attack.

Will there be one?

"I think the probability is high," she said. "Eventually, yes."

- Larry Peterson

Mystery enemy in D.C.

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., remembers sitting at his Washington desk, a letter of condolences to the residents of New York City before him. The TV was blaring images of the traumatic moments after a plane hit the World Trade Center's north tower.

He looked up just in time to see United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower.

A half hour later, a blast rocked the Capitol as smoke poured from the direction of the Pentagon.

"The evacuation sort of evolved," he said. "There were no bells, no warnings.

"We didn't know who the enemy was or what the attacks were about. It seemed too random."

"I'm a real privacy person. I used to resent having to show my ID before getting on a plane," he said.

But, he quickly added, not anymore.

At the Capitol, evacuation drills these days are routine, gas masks are stored in every office and instructions are reviewed often.

Most profound, he said, has been the harsh reality of what faceless men and women did that day.

"It's humbling to talk to those folks," Kingston said. "The reality is: Blue-collar firefighters lost their lives saving the lives of blue bloods in the towers, many of whom probably wouldn't have them (the rescuers) over for dinner."

- Pamela E. Walck

A lasting mural

Just days after 9/11, the sales staff at Chatham Furniture had SCAD students paint four flags on the side of the store facing Abercorn Street. One of the flags on the 64-by-23-foot mural is known as George Washington's headquarters flag. The three others are a trip through the history of the American flag.

Store manager John Hughes said the flags were painted "because that's the least we can do to show our appreciation to our soldiers.

"We woke up that morning thinking it was going to be a normal day. But it didn't take very long to see that life, and the country, had changed dramatically. We're all proud Americans."

Five years later, the mural remains. There are no plans to paint over it.

- Morgan Winsor

Air waves filled

Radio personality Lil G was a student at Savannah State University on that terrible morning.

"I had just got back from class," he recalls, "and turned on the TV in my living room. They were talking about the plane hitting the first tower when I saw the second one hit. That's when I realized it was real."

A few hours later, he was on the air on E-93.

"Of course it was what everybody was talking about. I had never realized how many people in Savannah had friends and relatives in New York. They were desperately trying to find out how they were. We talked it out on the air and recorded some people's reactions. Some people were crying. Some people just didn't know what to say - they were speechless. The whole city was on pins and needles."

That day changed the way he looked at life, he said. "Sure it did. You realized that life is short. You never know when your day might come. You take advantage of every day you can."

- Doug Wyatt

New susceptibility

Charlena Brown's perception of the United States changed on the day of the terrorist attacks.

"We had this attitude of 'we are okay as long as it's happening outside of the United States,'" Brown said. "It changed me personally in a sense I am a little more conscious about world events."

Brown, who has a grown son and daughter, said she grew more conscious of the people around her because of the nation's newly revealed vulnerability.

She said the attacks had effects on some of the entrepreneurs with whom she works as program director for the Savannah Entrepreneurial Center.

"It depends largely on the industry that you are planning on going in," she said. "You have to look at how it's going to be affected worldwide. If you get involved in the import-export business, you have to look at the safety issues surrounding it."

- Eric Curl

Selfless empathy

Carolyn Johnson said she has never been in an airplane, but she had planned on flying some day - until Sept. 11. Now she is too concerned another attack would occur.

Johnson, who owns Little Willie Hair Styling Salon, was working when she saw the first plane hit on television that day. Like many people, she and her husband at first believed it was an accident.

Then the second plane hit.

She said ran around the hair salon in a panic, wanting to do something for the victims.

"My heart goes out to the people who had families there," she said. "My heart went out to them."

- Eric Curl

Must never forget

Sept. 11 represents two things for David W. Siu:the day of the horrific terrorist attacks, and the day of his birth.

In fact, Siu had just renewed his tags, which is required before each birthday, when he found out the World Trade Center had been hit. His sister called from Hong Kong to tell him while he was walking out to the parking lot.

Siu said he worries that Americans will forget about the attacks, if they have not already begun to do so. And he worries it will happen again.

"It hits people for the first two years. But as time goes by, they begin to forget," Siu said.

He said it hasn't changed his life too much. He still travels, although he is more aware of what is going on. He doesn't worry about what the future holds for his son, who was born around the time of the attacks.

"He'll make his own judgments as he gets older," Siu said.

And he hasn't changed how he spends his birthday.

"It's my birthday. I didn't choose that," Siu said. "It's still a celebration, even though it's a sad day."

- Eric Curl

Savannah Fire and Emergency Services plans to observe a moment of silence at 10 a.m. today. Firefighters plan to gather around the flagpole in front of the station on Oglethrope Street at 9:59 a.m. The station bells will toll several times before the minute of silence begins.